by Fiona Jayde
She still distrusts me.
Even worse, I think, if we had been unable to communicate. I hated to do that to her with the huge gash on her forehead and poison riddling her body, but communicating with her was an absolute must, and I wasn’t even sure if she would make it past sunrise.
I swallow hard, reliving the hours I held her, watching her chest rise and fall, fearing it might be her last as we sped toward my cave. I curse the distance even now. She may be upright, but she is far from well. Her occasional dizziness is very worrisome, and I wish she would let me tend to her head wound, but my stubborn female refuses to let me touch her.
I grind my teeth, both annoyed and amused by her fierceness. I can force the issue. I know I can. Nothing can stop me from doing what I wish with her, but that is not what I want. She must trust me. It is the only way. Everything must be agreed upon by her.
My thoughts return to the bed in my cave. Will she moan when I touch her? When I take her earlobe in my mouth and bite it? When I part her legs and taste her, will she be begging me to enter her, wet with excitement and desire?
She will, I vow. She will want me as much as I want her. And I will plunge myself deep inside her and form a bond that will last forever.
Thinking about this has made me painfully hard, and I wish my female was interested in mating with me now.
Yet she doesn’t seem to show much interest in me, only a wary distrust that makes my heart ache.
My horns scream with the need to bury myself inside her. I am baffled that she, of all females, the one who is my future bond mate, did not respond to my mind pull earlier. Several times now, I have reached out with my mind and tried to lure her to me as Elysiums do when we want to mate with a female. Yet each time she seems unfazed by it.
This is surprising. In my experience, the pull of an Elysium is an effective tool to obtain willing females of almost every species. Usually, all it takes is a simple tug with my mind and they fall happily into my lap. Then it is my job to please them with my body—a job I am more than happy to perform. Never have I ever had a female resist me like this. They come whenever I initiate my call. Every female I have ever wanted I have taken…at least…I did before being exiled to this place.
But not this female—this Earth woman. My pull seems to have no impact on her. For an instant, I worry that she does not feel aroused by me, but I saw her face when I stood before her. I noted the rising of the fur on her arm when I brushed against her, and I recognize my own body’s response to her. My horns have risen and turned obsidian more than once in her presence. She is my match, but she doesn’t seem to notice. She is completely unaware of the signs.
Perhaps her species finds bond mates differently. These human males must not have horns. She certainly doesn’t. They must show they are a match in some other way. I try my pull again, feeling desperate when I think of her with any other male but me. Yet all I see her do is flap her hand in the air as if she is batting away a large furxsa before she goes back to her furious pacing. I check the area, thinking it far too early for such insects to be flying around us. I notice nothing and turn my attention back to her.
It appears that my pull will not work on humans.
No matter. I find I like the idea of the challenge; the idea of bringing her to me with words and actions rather than my mental pull. I decide I want to win her, seduce her, and make her want me as her mate. This will make conquering her and winning her heart that much more rewarding.
She is unaware of my decision, of course. She is far too preoccupied with saving these other Earthlings, asking me questions I don’t give direct answers to simply because I refuse to let her leave. If she goes searching for them at the Chassaks’ dark market, she will most assuredly be caught and sold. We will leave this horrid planet eventually, but not now. My plan is not yet ready to put into motion.
“But why did you take me?” she asks again. “You should have left me with my crew. I could be helping them rather than remaining here.”
“You were dying.”
That brings her up short. Perhaps she did not understand how precarious her situation had been.
She turns to look at me, and I cringe at the red liquid dried to her face. I’m going to allow her space for now, but by the time we arrive at my cave, she will let me tend to her wounds no matter what she wishes.
“So…you saved me?”
“Yes.”
“You went out of your way to save me from a dangerous species who, according to you, you’ve hidden away from for two solar orbits…wait. I need some clarification on that. How long is a solar orbit?”
“It is 423 solar rotations,” I say, wondering how she could not know this.
“Okay, and what is a solar rotation?”
I can’t help but raise my brow ridge in surprise.
“A solar rotation is the time it takes for the fiery star in space to traverse our sky, dip below the horizon, and eventually circle back to the sky again.”
My explanation seems to have given her some clarity. “A day,” she says. My translator seems to agree with her. “A solar rotation is the equivalent of a day. So I’m guessing a solar orbit is a year, only it’s a much longer year than humans have since we only have 365 solar rotations in our solar orbits.”
Ah, that would explain some of her confusion, I suppose. I find it interesting that her planet orbits her sun so much faster than ours.
“So how old does that make you?” she asks.
“I have survived thirty solar orbits.”
She furrows her brow for a bit, which I find surprisingly adorable. Then she says, “That means you’re a little over thirty-four in human years.”
“And how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-eight in human years; less according to your solar orbits.”
She is quite young then, perfect for child-bearing, but I am not sure how long a human female’s fertile years last. I am certain that now is not the time to delve into that subject.
“Okay, now that we’ve cleared that up…you saved me from a species your people have been at war with for…I really can’t factor in the math at this point, but I’m guessing it’s been at least two decades.” She looks at me suspiciously. “Why? You took an enormous risk for me.”
I start to shrug.
“Don’t just shrug,” she says, holding up a hand. “Don’t you bullshit me. Just tell me.”
Och, she is ferocious. I don’t know what bullshit is exactly, but I get the general idea. My horns throb in response. Time to begin winning her over and making her mine. “I saved you because I want you. I have taken you. I will keep you.”
I nod, pleased with my response. It is a great honor for a female to be chosen by an Elysium Warrior, even one who has been exiled.
Suddenly, her delicate eyebrows come together over her nose, which scrunches up with disdain. “Taken me…you’ll keep me…for what?”
“For my mate.” I stand and come toward her. She starts to back away from me.
“I’m sorry, did you say…you want me as your…your what?”
“My mate. I will fuck you, and make a bond with you. I will keep you, and protect you, and care for you. It is the way of the Elysiums.”
“The hell you will!” She gives me an incredulous look and lifts her hands into fists, bending her knees in a fighting stance. “You come anywhere near me and force me to fuck you, I guarantee you’ll be dealing with the fight of your life on your hands.”
“Force?” I’m appalled, my jaw nearly becoming unhinged that she would think me so barbaric as to force my mate into being intimate with me. “I would never force you. We will fuck. It will be consensual. I will show you my love and adoration and pleasure you like no other male can. We will bond and be mates for life.”
Her face colors when I say “fuck”. It turns a beautiful, rosy shade. I am fascinated. I start to move closer, hoping to touch the color on her face. Will it disappear if I touch it? Does it ache like my horns? She does not let m
e get close enough to find out. Instead, she backs away into a corner, sputtering.
“Okay, that is not the way Earth people bond together, and that is most definitely not the way a human male talks to his…er…prospective mate? I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” She lets out a tired sigh. I notice worry lines around her mouth and dark circles under her eyes. I should not have brought this up. I’m immediately remorseful. How could I be thinking of my own needs when she is still suffering from her injuries and the poison in her system?
“You’re saying I have a choice in the matter? You won’t force me?”
“Never.” I barely choke out the word. It grieves me to think she assumed, for even one moment, that I intended to rape her. Worse still, it is clear I did not use the correct approach with my female. This did not win her over. I take a tentative step forward and stop, waiting to see if she will retreat, but she seems to be wearily rubbing the area where her translator chip is located. I feel more guilt. It will be tender and sore for the next few days.
Yet I had to talk to her. It was necessary.
“Look. If this was just an alien way of looking for a hook-up, I’m going to have to pass. I…don’t do that kind of thing.”
I have no idea what hookups are, but I assume I approached our subject of the bonding in the wrong way. Or maybe this species is not intimate. The thought horrifies me.
“How do you come together, then? Do you not fuck? Do you not know how? If you do not, I can show you…”
She squeals a little, as if surprised by the idea, and waves her hands in front of her. “Nope, that’s not…that’s not necessary. I know what it is. I appreciate the offer. That’s very nice, but I’m not interested.”
I shrug, narrowing my brows as I try to understand my fierce female. “Maybe not right away. I will not force you to mate, but I will keep you. Eventually, we will bond.”
She does not like this. In an adorable gesture, she puts her hands on her hips. “Listen to me, you green-ass devil—or whatever you are—we just met. I am not your pet or your mistress. I’m not your anything. And I said I wasn’t interested, so that means no mating. No keeping. No, thank you.”
These Earth people must have strange ways. Do they not imprint on a mate at first sight? If a male on Earth proposes to bond with a female, does she feel insulted? Although my people always respect it when a female rejects them, most of the other species I have met would be honored to mate with an Elysium.
A true mate bond isn’t possible, but pleasuring each other certainly is, and females across our galaxy count themselves lucky to spend the night in one of our beds. We are ferocious hunters, recognized as noble and talented warriors, not to mention talented lovers. We are true and loyal to our mates. But, I remind myself, my Earth woman does not know this yet. She does not know the Elysiums. I will try to be patient, I decide.
Yet I seem to have upset her. Again. I do not like the way her face drains of color. I am causing her more distress when I should be tending to her needs. She is still talking, pacing around the ship. She seems to be having trouble with her balance. I wonder if the poison from the quills is bothering her more than I initially thought. When she awoke, I assumed she had overcome the worst of it.
In the middle of her rant, she turns back to me and points her finger at my chest. “...and wait a minute, how is it that I can understand you? I feel like such an idiot for not asking this question before. We definitely don’t speak the same language. Do you speak English for some reason? Have you met Earth people before?”
I shake my head. “I implanted a translator chip behind your right ear.”
She stills, which, I think, worries me just a little. It is clear she does not like this response.
“You did what now?”
I motion to her ear. “I placed a translator chip behind your ear. I did not wish for you to wake up with a strange being and have no way of communicating with me. I feared you would be too afraid to trust me and possibly hurt yourself by trying to get away from me.”
“I’m still trying to figure out a way to get away from you. Speaking the same language has not negated that option.”
I internally wince. My female’s words are as sharp as a rurkshas incisors. This is my fault. I did not ask her permission. It is now time to ask for her forgiveness.
“I am sorry, Ada.” I slowly approach her. She doesn’t seem to notice, distracted by the tiny bump behind her ear. “I injected it without your permission. I will not do so again. Forgive me?” I’m right in front of her now. It’s the closest I’ve been able to get to her since she took up her crazed pacing. I run my hands up the side of her arm and feel her jolt at my touch. I don’t know whether or not to be encouraged by this or discouraged. I stop moving, afraid she will push away from me, but she remains still, looking at me with wary eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“I am asking for your forgiveness. I am also asking you to let me dress your wounds. You do not look well. Let me help you.”
Watching me closely, my female backs away from me and inches toward the front of the boat. I feel frustrated that she has retreated from me, but I remind myself I must be patient. We do not understand each other’s ways. She peers around the vessel as if looking for an exit. “Is there any land on this planet?”
“Oh, yes, we are going there now.”
She looks up at me in surprise. “We are?”
“Yes. To my home.” I am amused. Did she assume we would live on this tiny ship? Bah. I can provide much better for my mate.
“I thought this wasn’t your planet.”
“It is not the planet of my people, but it is where I live now.”
She nods and gives me a reluctant half smile. “I’m sorry for being so jumpy and distrustful around you. I…”
She is apologizing to me after all my mistakes? What a generous female I have.
“I’m grateful to you for saving my life when the risk was high for you. I know I haven’t shown much gratitude since you grabbed me. You seem like a…nice being…person. I think.”
I snort. “No. I am a warrior. A killer.”
Her face pales for a moment before she shakes herself and swallows hard. “Well, you are being nice to me.”
“You are mine,” I say. “I would never treat you poorly.”
She looks at me nervously. “Even if I say I don’t want to be your mate?”
Her words confound me. I have captured her and claimed her. She can have all the time she needs, but eventually she will mate with me. This is how it works. Perhaps, due to my unworthiness, Elysarah has given me a mate that requires much more effort. I cannot make amends for all my failures concerning my family if I do not show my goddess that I deserve this beautiful creature before me. I need to add more physical proximity in order to trigger her arousal. Yet she is always moving away. No matter. I am a persistent Elysium. I will continue to do what I must to win her over.
“Do you not desire me?” I ask, moving closer to her. I exert my influence again, pulling her toward me in my mind. She looks even more nervous now. I stop, feeling uneasy. I do not want her fear or her anxiety. I want her trust. “Do not be afraid of me, please, Ada. I swear on my life as an Elysium Warrior, I will never harm you.”
“That sounds like a pretty heavy oath to make.”
“It is an oath punishable by death if broken.”
Her jaw drops in surprise. She looks adorable, but then she shakes her head. “I’m not afraid, and I can take care of myself,” she says, jutting her chin into the air. She squares her shoulders and attempts to look imposing.
I chuckle. “You are fierce, my female.”
“I’m not yours,” she says, poking me in the chest when I slowly ease up to her. “That’s close enough.”
I stop and study her features. Slowly, I bring my hand up to her cheek. She does not move. I gently stroke it. “So soft,” I say quietly. “And warm.” She looks up at me through long hairs along the ridges of h
er eyelids. I’ve never seen anything like them before, but they enhance her beauty. I move my hand further up, toward her hair. I stroke it gently. “Do all Earth females have hair like this?”
She is breathing heavy. “Short?” she gasps.
“No. Glossy. Smooth. Beautiful.”
Her eyes seem to darken at my words. She swallows, and I watch the movement of her throat, mesmerized. “I keep mine shorter when I’m on an expedition so I don’t have to worry about it.”
“I like it,” I say. Leaning in, I breathe in deeply, taking in the strong female scent that surrounds her. I can hear her breath catch as I grow closer.
Ah, my mate. I can feel her attraction. She will be happy with me.
I can’t tell if it’s the poison from the quills or the rocking of the boat, but my head feels super fuzzy. It’s definitely one of those two things causing it. I tell myself it can’t be the giant, sexy alien standing in front of me, sniffing at my hair like I’m his favorite flower.
He’s so close to me, stroking me...it’s making me feel breathless. My heart is flip-flopping in my chest. Good glory, turned on does not even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now.
This is wildly inappropriate.
Shit. This is not the plan. The plan involves space from him and figuring out how to rescue my friends. But I’m all messed up now. This gorgeous devil just told me he saved my life because he wants me for his mate. He wants to protect me, and care for me, and tend to my wounds…and…and…I hate that stuff, don’t I? I’m all about control and independence. I’m not interested in giving my all to someone only to have them throw it back in my face and tell me it wasn’t good enough.